Carriers are always looking for ways to get you to add more lines, so a line of service for your car? Sure, why not? That's what SyncUP DRIVE from T-Mobile is all about, and today the carrier is making it cheaper to equip multiple cars with its tracking and diagnostic dongle. SyncUP DRIVE now includes as many as 24 cars on a single account at no additional cost.

SyncUP DRIVE is an OBD-II connector that relays data over T-Mobile's LTE network. It also has a built-in WiFi hotspot for use in the car. Using the SyncUP DRIVE app, you can see a car's location and diagnostic data via the SyncUP DRIVE app. T-Mobile notes that expanding the service to 24 vehicles makes it ideal for managing a fleet of vehicles. A single unit is still fine for keeping tabs on a rebellious teenager, though.

You still need to pick up a dongle for each vehicle, but T-Mobile has the hardware on sale right now. It's usually $120, but it's down to $48 or $2 per month. You need to have a 2GB monthly data plan on the dongle to be eligible for the deal. T-Mobile is very keen to point out the expanded car support comes at no additional cost, but it seems like you'll still need data plans for each car. We've reached out to check.

Press Release

Bellevue, Washington — May 10, 2017 — The Un-carrier just gave its customers ANOTHER free upgrade. Starting today, all T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) SyncUP DRIVE customers can now track and manage up to 24 vehicles with a device installed — all in one view from the SyncUP DRIVE app. And all at no extra cost.

With SyncUP DRIVE, now you can track the location of a fleet of vehicles on a single map, and you can even customize vehicles with unique icons and colors to differentiate them. You can also setup multiple pre-defined boundaries (aka geofences) and get alerts in the app or via text message when one or all of your vehicles cross those boundaries. And you can also stay on top of maintenance issues from afar with detailed vehicle diagnostics on your smartphone.

“This is what the Un-carrier does – gives you more without asking more! Last month, we gave SyncUP DRIVE customers roadside assistance, and now we’re giving them the ability to track all their vehicles in one place – all at no extra charge,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “I know moms and dads are gonna love being able to keep an eye on all their family cars, and businesses are going to have their minds blown by how easy it is to track and manage an entire fleet with SyncUP DRIVE.”

For parents, the updates to SyncUP DRIVE mean peace of mind. Mom and dad can now easily track the location of their family vehicles and stay on top of maintenance issues. They can even get alerts when the kids come and go with digital geofences. Good luck sneaking out at night, kids!

For T-Mobile @Work customers, the updates to SyncUP DRIVE mean a whole new level of efficiency and visibility. Being able to track a small fleet of vehicles from a single map means business owners know that every vehicle is where it’s supposed to be, when it’s supposed to be there. For example, a mobile delivery company could use the intelligence provided by SyncUP DRIVE to reroute vehicles based on their current location to serve real-time customer requests.

Current SyncUP DRIVE customers don’t have to do a thing to get these new features. They can simply access their updated SyncUP DRIVE app to try out the new benefits.

About T-Mobile SyncUP DRIVE
Launched in November 2016, T-Mobile SyncUP DRIVE is a radically simple connected car solution that enables you to:

Stay connected: Deliver an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hot spot on the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network, perfect for sharing data with up to five Wi-Fi capable devices to entertain your family during those road trips.

Drive smarter: Analyze driving behavior to help you drive more safely, while minimizing wear-and-tear, by keeping track of dangerous driving behavior like speeding, harsh braking and rapid accelerations. And, companies can make tracking and expensing business miles a breeze.

Keep an eye on your family: Know the location and status of multiple cars without contacting the drivers, set speeding alerts to encourage safe driving behavior and set alerts to be notified when your car enters or leaves a certain area.

Locate your car: Keep tabs on your vehicle, from finding your parked car on a map, locating and tracking your car’s real-time driving location or delivering a notification if the device or your car has been bumped or had the device removed.

Take care of your car: Have a virtual mechanic to help you take better care of your car and help reduce repair costs by providing helpful maintenance reminders and instant notifications about car trouble.

Get roadside assistance: From lockouts to jumps, tire changes, and tows—Allstate® Motor Club will be there to get you going again. Included with SyncUP DRIVE for customers with a qualifying mobile internet data plan.

Comments

I got a SyncUP drive using my free third line and I guess I like it? I mostly use it to keep tabs on my vehicle's location as my regular line has unlimited data, so I save the wifi network for guests on road trips.

Derik Taylor

So how do you like it? I am considering getting one for my SO, since her phone is Verizon and she wants to stream music while driving. She can do that with Verizon, but it may cost her a pretty penny. And what data options are available for it?

I suppose I could ask customer service, but I feel like you might be a little less biased here.

All of T-Mobile's data plan are available here, though technically they require a minimum of their 2GB plan which runs $20/month. At the lowest you are looking at $22/month combined cost of the plan and device, not including the purchase price or activation costs. Take a look at what it might cost for her to simply add more data to her existing Verizon data plan. It looks like bumping from their 2GB to 4GB is only $15, and from 4 to 8 is another $30, so realistically it might not be that cost effective.

Plans aside, I got the device for the specific reason of being able to keep better tabs on my car. It sends me notifications anytime the car is started or it detects a possible disturbance like someone pulling on a door handle. It also provides some ODBII data like fuel and battery levels, as well as codes that are being thrown. I believe it gives the option to clear some codes, provided they are able to be cleared from external devices and aren't strictly managed by the vehicle itself.

The wifi works well, provided you have signal, but there's also no way to tell whether you have signal or not. Actually that may not be true, there are some lights on the device, but I have mine hidden behind a panel, so I can't see it. Mostly I know that there is poor signal because the data stops flowing, so that can be a bit annoying at times. It takes about 30 seconds from starting the car to the wifi coming online, which is fine, just good to know that it's not instant. I don't use the wifi for my phone as I have an unlimited data plan for that, but I do use it with my tablet as it does not have a cell radio. I also give my friends the password since it's free data for me so I might as well pass it on.

Alright that's a lot to chew, and this is like the third revision of this comment. Let me know if you have more questions or want me to clarify further.

Soundjudgment ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ

So to understand this?
I have a T-Mobile One data plan now for my phone. I have to buy a SECOND T-Mobile data plan (at least their 2 GB plan) just to use on this Sync-dongle as well?

There is a switch for it in the account and from my understanding of things Binge On does work for tethering. I'll give it a whirl later with my tablet and the Netflix test video and get back to you.

illregal

Real cars already have something plugged into the obdII port

Cory S

The OBDII port is typically for diagnostics, or ECM programming. A car shouldn't have anything plugged into it from the factory, that would negate the ports purpose.

Nate Sotomayor

I have a tuner plugged into mine!

illregal

Very good. You understood.

David Crandon

Hes still there?

Jerry Hallett

I have 3 vehicles, all have an IMS UBI Intelligence adapter connected to the port, get a discount on my insurance... so why would I pay for an extra line when I already get tethering on my phone?

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antonio cesar

cobb access port ftw

David Crandon

As opposed to fake cars?

christmas_ape

I tried one of these out, had a lot of issues with it. Loads and loads of false positives on "A disturbance has been detected" Any time there was a gust of wind or a car drove by. It made me so paranoid. My car would be parked a street a way and I'd be wondering if it was stolen. Next you get a notification every time the car starts. That sounds fine at first but wow it gets old fast if you are the one driving. If you are keeping tabs on a child, I can understand it being useful, but I shut those off pretty fast. Also every once in a while I would shut my car off and it would give me a "Battery critically low" notification. I had to get my car looked at a few weeks ago and no the battery is fine.

Another reason I got it was for categorizing trips as business or personal. And man they do not make that easy. Ideal scenario would be an actionable notification once the trip is complete "Trip complete" and two actions "Personal, Business". And I get it it's a new service and that may come in the future. But instead you have to go into the app, go to your history, click on the trip, click on the overflow menu, click on type, click on business, hit the back button, hit the back button, click on the next one. You get the idea.

It's a cool idea, depending on what you're using it for. It was just too much effort and it actually made me worry more about my car than when I didn't have it because of all the false positive "disturbance" notifications.

The false positives can certainly be annoying, I get them whenever I open my trunk when the car is locked. I'd rather have a false positive that I can check out on my security cameras later than nothing though. The app could certainly be better designed as well. It drives me crazy that anytime I unplug it do use my code reader or get my vehicle smogged, when I plug it back in it makes a new vehicle in the app.

You should be able to, all it takes is a micro SIM card. Word of warning though, when I got mine they insisted they couldn't just sell me the unit and forced me to buy a SIM card they activated in the store, claiming that it didn't come with one and it wasn't compatible with the spares I already had. Was a load of bullshit and it comes with a SIM that just needs activation.

Adult Supervisor

I've had one of these installed in my BMW for about a week. It keeps sending a message that "A Disturbance has been detected in your vehicle." Doesn't give me a clue as to what the disturbance might be. Even happens occasionally when the car is parked in the garage with engine not running.